(a) Except as provided in Section 20111.5, a public entity
subject to this part may require that each prospective bidder for a
contract complete and submit to the entity a standardized
questionnaire and financial statement in a form specified by the
entity, including a complete statement of the prospective bidder's
experience in performing public works. The standardized questionnaire
may not require prospective bidders to disclose any violations of
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of
the Labor Code committed prior to January 1, 1998, if a violation was
based on a subcontractor's failure to comply with these provisions
and the bidder had no knowledge of the subcontractor's violations.
The Department of Industrial Relations, in collaboration with
affected agencies and interested parties, shall develop model
guidelines for rating bidders, and draft the standardized
questionnaire, that may be used by public entities for the purposes
of this part. The Department of Industrial Relations, in developing
the standardized questionnaire, shall consult with affected public
agencies, cities and counties, the construction industry, the surety
industry, and other interested parties. The questionnaire and
financial statement shall be verified under oath by the bidder in the
manner in which civil pleadings in civil actions are verified. The
questionnaires and financial statements shall not be public records
and shall not be open to public inspection; however, records of the
names of contractors applying for prequalification status shall be
public records subject to disclosure under Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(b) Any public entity requiring prospective bidders to complete
and submit questionnaires and financial statements, as described in
subdivision (a), shall adopt and apply a uniform system of rating
bidders on the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial
statements, in order to determine both the minimum requirements
permitted for qualification to bid, and the type and size of the
contracts upon which each bidder shall be deemed qualified to bid.
The uniform system of rating prospective bidders shall be based on
objective criteria.
(c) A public entity may establish a process for prequalifying
prospective bidders pursuant to this section on a quarterly basis and
a prequalification pursuant to this process shall be valid for one
calendar year following the date of initial prequalification.
(d) Any public entity requiring prospective bidders on a public
works project to prequalify pursuant to this section shall establish
a process that will allow prospective bidders to dispute their
proposed prequalification rating prior to the closing time for
receipt of bids. The appeal process shall include the following:
(1) Upon request of the prospective bidder, the public entity
shall provide notification to the prospective bidder in writing of
the basis for the prospective bidder's disqualification and any
supporting evidence that has been received from others or adduced as
a result of an investigation by the public entity.
(2) The prospective bidder shall be given the opportunity to rebut
any evidence used as a basis for disqualification and to present
evidence to the public entity as to why the prospective bidder should
be found qualified.
(3) If the prospective bidder chooses not to avail itself of this
process, the proposed prequalification rating may be adopted without
further proceedings.
(e) For the purposes of subdivision (a), a financial statement
shall not be required from a contractor who has qualified as a Small
Business Administration entity pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) of Section 14837 of the Government Code, when the bid
is no more than 25 percent of the qualifying amount provided in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 14837 of the Government
Code.
(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude an awarding agency from
prequalifying or disqualifying a subcontractor. The disqualification
of a subcontractor by an awarding agency does not disqualify an
otherwise prequalified contractor.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this part to the
contrary, where plans and specifications have been prepared by a
public agency, whose activities are subject to this part, in order
for a public project to be put out for formal or informal bid, and,
subsequently, the public agency elects to perform the work by day's
labor, the public agency shall perform the work in strict accordance
with these same plans and specifications.
Revisions of the plans and specifications may be made once a
justification detailing the specific reasons for the change or
changes has been approved by the public agency or its project
director and a copy of the change and its justification is placed in
the project file.

In all contracts subject to this part where federal funds
are involved, no bid submitted shall be invalidated by the failure of
the bidder to be licensed in accordance with the laws of this state.
However, at the time the contract is awarded, the contractor shall
be properly licensed in accordance with the laws of this state. The
first payment for work or material under any contract shall not be
made unless and until the Registrar of Contractors verifies to the
agency that the records of the Contractors' State License Board
indicate that the contractor was properly licensed at the time the
contract was awarded. Any bidder or contractor not so licensed shall
be subject to all legal penalties imposed by law, including, but not
limited to, any appropriate disciplinary action by the Contractors'
State License Board. The agency shall include a statement to that
effect in the standard form of prequalification questionnaire and
financial statement. Failure of the bidder to obtain proper and
adequate licensing for an award of a contract shall constitute a
failure to execute the contract and shall result in the forfeiture of
the security of the bidder.

(a) (1) Any local agency subject to this chapter shall, in
the procurement of architectural design services requiring an
expenditure in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), include in
any request for proposals for those services or invitations to bid
from a prequalified list for a specific project a disclosure of any
contract provision that would require the contracting architect to
indemnify and hold harmless the local agency against any and all
liability, whether or not caused by the activity of the contracting
architect.
(2) The disclosure statement shall be prominently set forth in
bold type.
(b) In the event a local agency fails to comply with paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a), that local agency shall (1) be precluded from
requiring the selected architect to agree to any contract provision
requiring the selected architect to indemnify or hold harmless the
local agency against any and all liability not caused by the activity
of the selected architect, (2) cease discussions with the selected
architect and reopen the request for proposals or invitations to bid
from a qualification list, or (3) mutually agree to an indemnity
clause acceptable to both parties.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1998.

A local agency subject to this chapter taking bids for the
construction of a public work or improvement shall, upon request
from a contractor plan room service, provide an electronic copy of a
project's contract documents at no charge to the contractor plan
room.